Setting up camp

Before walking too far into the piles of trash, I checked up on Morph since he hasn't made a peep since i first met him. Thankfully the little guy merely fell asleep in my pocket after having made a home for himself in there. I just hope he doesn't goop up the interior like a giant slug. That would be kinda nasty.

Turning my head and gazing off in the direction of the forest situated between mount Corvo and the Grey Terminal, I looked past the trees and towards the sea. My golden irises glinted in the light. I used to need glasses just to read properly. Now I can see a butterfly flapping it's wings from thirty meters away.

Even this far from the sea I can still feel my connection to it, like a warm blanket wrapped around me shoulders. I could definitely get used to this. The soft push and pull of the tide. The soothing call of the ocean. When I look to my left over the pile of trash I can feel the same sensation. However there's a different feeling as well. One far more subdued than the raging roar of the sea, yet this feeling is still somehow familiar.

'I'm pretty sure there's a stream or river flowing down from the mountains somewhere in that direction. I'm not quite sure how I know, but I can feel it. I wonder whose ability this was. Namor, or Percy?' I thought curiously while walking towards the area where the Grey Terminal meets the ocean.

'Maybe I should have asked Pontus for a starting package before he sent me off. Some cash, food and a sleeping bag would be really nice right about now. I guess I got so caught up in thinking over my wishes and thanking the big guy that certain basic concepts completely slipped my mind. I guess I'll just have to sleep on the ground tonight.'

Pushing that depressing notion from my thoughts I focused on what's ahead. Thinking about how I could best go about living my life in this world.

'First things first, I need to find a place to set up a temporary shelter. I can use

some of this debris to help for the foundation. It shouldn't be too hard to find what I need. Then I can work on my plan to meet Ace and Sabo. Hopefully I can befriend them before Luffy makes it down here. Training with them will be my best bet at improving myself in the long run. Who knows, given time, maybe they'll come to see me as their brother. I was an only child in my first life. So It was always just me and my mom. After she died I was alone. But things don't have to be that way now. I can choose a different path in life. And I've always wanted siblings.'

A pale light shone from behind my golden irises as I skirted the edge of the Grey Terminal, near the water line. I spent the better part of an hour walking along the shore, looking into the immense pile of rubbish for a good place to set up camp. Most of the best places were taken, but I didn't mind the lengthy search. Even just casually walking around like this was enough to make me giddy inside.

Besides, It's not like I have anything better to do. Eventually I settled on a half decent spot just far enough from the water not to be touched by the tides. It's a small distance from where I first stepped out from the forest and saw the smoky pile of trash, but it's a good deal away from most of the other inhabitants of this place. It's also near the tree line and not too far from one of the streams trickling down from the mountain. Meaning I'll have a steady flow of fresh water to drink and easy access to the forest if I want to hunt or look for fruit trees berry bushes.

'Now the fun part. Setting up camp.' I thought sarcastically.

Do It Yourself projects have always been a hobby of mine. And after getting my masters degree in engineering I began entering the Battlebot competitions, building remote control robots and doing battle against other peoples creations. I loved to tinker and mess about in my garage, but that was by far my favourite pass time.

And now, here I am, surrounded by piles and piles of discarded scrap metal, no longer hindered by a wheel chair. Even if I don't have any modern tools I can work around that with a bit of ingenuity and a smidgen of elbow grease. This place is a veritable mountain of potential just waiting to be tapped.

"There's so much unused material going to waste. It's like a Colin Furze wet dream. Well, there's no time like the present. I should probably start by clearing out a small area to build a foundation. Then I can collect anything around here that could be useful." With that said I got to work. And I'll be the first to admit, I may have enjoyed the manual labour a little more than I should have.

I spent the better part of an hour hauling away the larger pieces of scrap metal and moving bits of random debris out of the way. Tossing away anything too broken too use and setting aside anything even remotely useful.

The labour could hardly be considered strenuous thanks to my enhanced strength and increased endurance. Atlantean biology for the win. Or I guess I should say half fishman biology for the win. But that's just semantics.

Once I was satisfied with what I had set down for the foundation of my humble abode, I began the tedious task of laying down the half broken planks of wood I gathered to create a rudimentary floor. The walls I formed from several metal pipes that I stuck into the ground forming a square before leaning multiple large, partially rotten wooden grates against them. The roof was made from a large sheet of metal typically used to drain rain water from rooftops. Ensuring it was on a slant to keep the water from pooling overhead wasn't too difficult, but the lack of proper tools really hampered my progress.

Morph helped a lot in that regard. With his shapeshifting ability he's able to turn himself into the exact tool needed for any particular task. Of course he can't mimic moving parts, meaning no electric tools, but his help has still been invaluable. With him at my side everything went far faster than it would have otherwise.

Plus I'm strong enough to bend the metal into whatever shape I desire. without Morph and my newfound physical abilities, this would have taken far longer. All in all I spent the remainder of the day preparing a spot to sleep that night. My mattress was made from a gathering of large leaves and grass, I placed my jacket and t-shirt on top of it all to make a makeshift bed sheet and pillow.

When I was satisfied with my work, I was left with a small ramshackle hut barely large enough to fit a single child. It's rather ugly too. Since it's formed from the random pieces of slightly more useful lumber and sheets of metal I gathered from around this part of the Grey Terminal. That being said it's still one of the better looking hovels in this area.

Once I had finished setting up I began my search for proper tools while the sun was still up. They'll definitely be helpful in the future. Most of what I found was garbage, but occasionally I found a hammer or wrench that wasn't completely useless. After a bit of maintenance and tiding up they'll do the job until I can get something better. Most of them were too far gone though.

One of the things I found in abundance was nails. The majority of them are questionable at best, but it's to be expected based on where I am. All in all, I'd say I did a pretty good job for a single afternoons.

"This is a good start for now. Who knows how long I may need to stay in this part of town. Not that I mind all that much. Sleeping beneath the stars was never something that bothered me." I stated as if talking to myself while laying down on a folded old curtain that had replaced my jacket as the sheet for my bed.

I've always be one to try and to find the upside in things, even here while surrounded by trash. Not even sleeping in garbage could ruin my mood. Today was the second best day of my life and its one I'll never forget. The best day of my life was when I was 7 and my mom first took me to sailing. That memory always makes me smile. Even if the days afterwards weren't always the happiest I can still look back on them fondly. As long as someone remembers you, you never truly die. A sentiment I wholeheartedly believe in. In that regard, my mother never really left me.

As I lay on my back staring up at rusted metal beams holding up the roof of my hut, my thoughts began to drift . The warm smile of my mother greeted me as I fell into a dream filled sleep.